The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross

The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross
Series: Steampunk Chronicles, #3
Source: Harlequin Teen Panel
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: May 28, 2013

In 1897 London, something not quite human is about to awaken
When mechanical genius Emily is kidnapped by rogue automatons, Finley Jayne and her fellow misfits fear the worst. What's left of their archenemy, The Machinist, hungers to be resurrected, and Emily must transplant his consciousness into one of his automatons—or forfeit her friends' lives.
With Griffin being mysteriously tormented by the Aether, the young duke's sanity is close to the breaking point. Seeking help, Finley turns to Jack Dandy, but trusting the master criminal is as dangerous as controlling her dark side. When Jack kisses her, Finley must finally confront her true feelings for him...and for Griffin.
Meanwhile, Sam is searching everywhere for Emily, from Whitechapel's desolate alleyways to Mayfair's elegant mansions. He would walk into hell for her, but the choice she must make will test them more than they could imagine.
To save those she cares about, Emily must confront The Machinist's ultimate creation—an automaton more human than machine. And if she's to have any chance at triumphing, she must summon a strength even she doesn't know she has...

The Girl with the Iron Touch is a bit of a hard one for me to review. As you know, I've been absolutely loving the rest of the series. But try as I might, this one didn't really live up to it's predecessors. It seemed a bit rushed, to tell you the truth.

It started out interesting-- but a tad bit confusing for my liking. We're thrown right into the story, which normally I love, but I had no clue what was going on! It seems that several months have lapsed in between books-- sigh.

 I did, however, enjoy this installment of The Steampunk Chronicles, even though it left a bit to be desired.
Emily got so much more time and development in this one! Before, she was just a sweet, smart girl. But now we find out that she has some skeletons in her closet, some of which don't even get revealed to us! I'd like to know more about her! I liked being inside her head for once, and getting to see what she thought.

I had hoped that this would be the book where Finley and Griffin would finally figure it out, and while to some degree it was, I still feel like their relationship could be more developed. It didn't seem like anything had happened in the time that we missed, but then it seems like things start happening altogether too fast, which kind of messed with my mind.

You know what else messed with my mind? The plot. It was all over the place, but I mean that in a good way. It wasn't as predictable as the last two books, but I found that there were more loose ends. It irked me. I feel like they weren't all tied up, and that we have too much of an open-ending. I like them all wrapped up pretty, if I may say so.

All in all, The Girl with the Iron Touch was a good continuation to this series, but I feel like maybe this isn't the last book?

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross
Series: Steampunk Chronicles, #2
Source: Bought
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: May 22, 2012

In New York City, 1897, life has never been more thrilling-or dangerous Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper from the clutches of a devious criminal demanding a trade-the dangerous device Jasper stole from him...for the life of the girl Jasper loves. One false move from Jasper, and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens and tightens. From the rough streets of lower Manhattan to elegant Fifth Avenue, the motley crew of teens follows Jasper's elusive trail. And they're about to discover how far they'll go for friendship. More than ever, Finley must rely on powerful English duke Griffin King to balance her dark magic with her good side. Yet Griffin is at war with himself over his secret attraction to Finley...and will risk his life and reputation to save her. Now, to help those she's come to care for so deeply, Finley must infiltrate the criminal gang. Only problem is, she might like the dark side a little too much....

I really enjoy this series. Like really, love-to-death-those-steampunk-elements love this series. So much that I started the next book in the series before I came to write this review. Weird, right? But anyway, since I basically denied your knowing what I thought immediately, I might as well start.

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar picked up pretty much immediately where the last book left off-- we're thrown right back into Finley's world, which I absolutely loved! I hate it when things happen in between books, it doesn't work out for me, you know?

And sense nothing happened in between, I was blissfully happy. I really liked the new element of Jasper in New York, and the girl he loves being choked slowly by that terrible collar. It added new adventure to the series, and it kept me guessing, though I will admit that I knew something about Mei that I shouldn't have pretty quickly. Some of the plot points could have been better, but I overlook that.

On another note, Finley still kicks butt. I seriously love this girl, she's an amazing character! Now that the two sides of her have merged, I love her even more. She's so snarky, and does things that I can imagine doing too. They may be stupid things, and tempestuous a bit, but I can still imagine doing them. I also really love that the characters were the same as the last book-- they're still the ones that we know and love.

But most of all, I really like that the characters have this sort of sense of family about them. They take care of their own, you know? That (of course) is what makes them truly rock.

All in all, The Girl in the Clockwork Collar is a great continuation of The Steampunk Chronicles.

The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
Series: Steampunk Chronicles, #1
Source: Bought
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: May 24, 2011

In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one...except the "thing" inside her.When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no "normal" Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch....

Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of "them." The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits: Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.

Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help--and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.

But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on--even if it seems no one believes her.

I think that my feelings for The Girl in the Steel Corset could pretty accurately be described as STEAMPUNK=AWESOME. I'm a huge fan of steampunk, but it's just one of those genres that never quite made onto the YA group for whatever reason.

But there should be more, because they've found a fan in me. I liked Kady's rich descriptions of society, and the steampowered carriages, as well as the automatons and the lovely steampunk garb.

I liked that when the points of view switched; I was never confused. Each of the characters has their own unique personality. You'd think that there would be confusion, but no, I always knew exactly who was speaking, and I loved that.

I also loved the Jekyll and Hyde element, as well as the mystery of the machinist and the various other things that were going on.

Finley was my favourite character, but I also really liked Emily, Sam, Jasper, and Griffin. I love that none of the characters personalities were skimped on in favor of action. There was plenty of that too, but all of the characters were very fleshed out in spite of that.

Now, because I have to, I'll say something about the quasi-love triangle. I like both sides, but Griffin totally comes out on top for me. He's so much sweeter, and I like the way that he thinks about Finley. They're both swoony, though, so there is that.

All in all, my only problem with The Girl in the Steel Corset was that it was a tad predictable. Everything else about it was amazing.